


The Lullaby

by muselives



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-25
Updated: 2008-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22292989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muselives/pseuds/muselives
Summary: Caspian helps Susan overcome some homesickness that's causing her restlessness.
Relationships: Caspian/Susan Pevensie
Kudos: 26





	The Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> [2020-01-17 author's note] Reposted from LJ, for Kitoky. Unedited.
> 
> [original 2008-04-25 author's note] susancaspian Challenge #12 (Music). I blame the start of school for making me procrastinate and the holiday weekend for making this so down to the wire. Hope it's still good! Unbetaed. AU of movieverse.

This restless night sent Caspian wandering to the old store room that overlooked the sea. There he had brushed the dust off of old toys, the memories of his childhood stirring with the grey particles in the moonlight, until his hands rested on a long forgotten friend.

At first, his fingers felt stiff as he coaxed the notes out of the pipe but he kept at it, finding by ear the old lullaby his nurse had played to put him to sleep as a child.

A flicker of light drew his attention up and the soft gasp let him know he'd been overheard. As he moved to the door, he saw dark hair sweeping out like a cloak as his audience dashed around a corner.

"Wait," he called quietly, hardly needing to whisper to be heard. A few quick steps and he turned to find who had been listening to him.

_Queen Susan._

The slight flush on her cheeks was nearly impossible to catch in the yellowish candlelight. "I'm sorry," she began whispering, "I couldn't sleep. I didn't mean to--"

"It's alright," the Telmarine King answered. Confusion marked his features as he asked, "Why did you leave when I saw you?"

Her right hand was clutching her robe together over her chest and if he wasn't mistaken there was a slight tremble in the other hand holding the candle. It was almost as if she was frightened by him, a thought that confused and upset Caspian.

"It's just that you looked so different when you were playing and Trufflehunter said this wing was where you grew up and when I saw you sitting there I thought about how Edmund always got upset when we would listen to him playing the lute and--"

"King Edmund plays the lute?" he blurted out incredously.

She let go of her robe and gave her forehead a slight slap. Her impulsive gesture brought a smile to his lips before he caught sight of the neckline of her nightgown. His mouth went a bit dry; it was not appropriate for him to see her in such a state of dress, proprietary habit making him turn his gaze from her as she answered, "Yes, Ed plays beautifully. He learned the first time we were here." From the corner of his eye, he watched to see if she would tighten her robe again, but instead she just started fiddling with a piece of her long dark hair as she murmured, "But he liked to play alone, he didn't like us eavesdropping or talking about it. And I thought--I thought you might not want me listening in."

"Queen Susan," he answered, making sure to keep his eyes on the floor, "I would be honored to play for you though I assure you I do not play with near the skill of any who are dedicated to their art. It's been a very long time since I've had any music."

"No music?" Her hand finally returned to her robe as she considered him. "Why? Was it your uncle's doing?"

"Yes," Caspian answered, finally lifting his eyes again. "He did not want me to study much of war less I threaten his throne but he drew the line at music lessons. 'No prince of Telmar will make a fool of himself puffing on some noisemaker,' I believe were his words."

"That's preposterous," the Gentle Queen declared. She let go of her robe again to feel for a recession in the wall to set the candle in and Caspian busied himself with stargazing while she did. His attention returned from the window as she spoke again. "Edmund always said that playing music was his way of working out his thoughts out loud. If he offered to play for us, he said it was different, and you could sort of tell when he was playing for someone else and when he was just playing for himself. We just let him have his way. Lucy could always get him to play for her."

It should have struck him as strange to hear her talk about the Kings and Queen of Old so humanly but their time together had taught Caspian that even rulers were people and that the four never spoke of each other as if they were anything more than family.

He must have been smiling at his thoughts because Susan's gaze flickered away uncertainly as she asked, "What?"

"There's just something very amusing about imagine Queen Lucy badgering King Edmund into playing the lute."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Lucy can badger just about anyone into doing her will. She'll have this whole castle wrapped around her little finger in months, you'll see."

"I hope so," he chuckled. He noticed that Susan still wasn't looking at him any longer and he remembered that it was more than a bit improper for them to be standing about with her in her night things. Dropping he turned slightly in the direction fo his chambers, murmuring, "I should let you return to bed."

"No point, I can't sleep." The words were soft and the slight flinch accompany them betrayed that she hadn't meant to say them.

He bit down on his lip and remained still. He had suffered the same problem but he had dressed himself before wandering the castle. Perhaps customs were different in Queen Susan's world; still, she must know things were different in Narnia, he had no doubt that her own court had some similarities to the Telmaraine's if Kind Edmund's formality was any indication. Yet her grip kept loosening on her robe and he wondered if her distant look meant that she had forgotten he was there.

Yet as soon as he shifted his weight, she murmured, "That song you were playing--it was a lullaby, wasn't it?"

"Yes, my nurse taught it to me."

Her gaze returned to him and in their clear blue he saw surprise. "She was a Narnian?"

He frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"That lullaby, it's Narnian, I'd know it anywhere. Mr. Tumnus used to play it for Lucy when we first came to the castle. We love Narnia but," her voice caught a little as she admitted, "We all missed home at times and Lu had trouble sleeping." Her thumb swept over the edge of her robe as she added, "I almost thought it was him, when I heard you playing."

"And you were missing home?" The question seemed too personal. His mouth opened to form an apology but the slight bob of her head silenced him. The pipes felt heavy in his hand; it was only know he realized he'd taken them from the room for the first time in years in his rush to catch Queen Susan. Lifting them as a sort of peace offering, he asked, "Did you want me to play it for you?"

"It's silly, isn't it?" Her quiet voice compelled him to step forward to hear her. "I was going to the kitchens to see if Leapisqueak had something."

"She does seem to have a cure for everything," he agreed with a wry smile. The good Mouse was a force to be reconned with ever since she had claimed the kitchens as her domain.

The Gentle Queen stood very still. Caspian sometimes forgot that she was slightly his junior; she always carried herself with a certainty that reminded him that she had lived an adult lifetime in Narnia once no matter how long ago it had been. Now it seemed she was unwilling to go forward or back, not ready to commit to any course of action.

Hesitantly, Caspian asked softly, "Queen Susan?"

"Oh, please, Caspian," she sighed, pushing back her hair with a look of exasperation. "I'm not feeling very much like a Queen at present. In fact, I feel a lot more like a child for bothering you at this late an hour. I'm sorry. Goodnight."

"Wait," he asked again, this time reaching out to touch her arm. Her gaze flickered from his face to his hand before settling on his shoes. "It's not silly and it's not a bother. If the song will help you, I can play it. If not, you can still see if Leapisqueak has some remedy."

The kitchens were further down this hallway. Susan glanced towards them then retrieved her candle. He was certain that was what she was going to do but instead she stepped past him, back towards the room where he'd discovered his pipes. When he stared at her, a smile touched her lips as she pointed out, "There's no where to sit out here."

"Oh." He followed after her back to the room, closing the door after her, moving to sit on the window sill as she found the sole chair. He settled into his seat, flexing his fingers to make sure they wouldn't stumble over the notes. He wanted to help her, wanted her to forget her homesickness, but he didn't really believe that an ill-played lullaby would truly put her at enough ease to sleep.

She brushed off some of the dust before setttling in. She rested her head on one hand, her dark hair spilling through her fingers.

He paused for a moment, preparing himself to apologize for his rusty skills, before he realized her eyes were already closing slightly as she watched him. He took a deep breath and blew a tremulous first note. With greater surity, he played the next clearly, the familiar tune flowing out of his pipes with hardly a second thought.

It was only after the last note rang through the dusty old room that Caspian realized he had, in fact, lulled Queen Susan to sleep. He smiled at first before chewing his lip as a concern presented itself. It couldn't be comfortable to sleep in this old chair with the dust thick in the air. He did not wish to leave her here but it would not be easy to take her back to her chambers.

In fact, he was not sure he could carry her anywhere at all. Her robe had fallen open and the shape of her as she breathed--

Turning away from her with a very hot flush, Caspian silently cursed himself for suggesting this remedy to her sleeplessness in the first place. He had not realized there was no appropriate way to suggest they should have returned to her chambers beforehand and now he was left with the consideration of carrying her to the nearest room he could without causing any sort of wonderment. Aslan save him if High King Peter were to catch the whisperings that would follow some Narnian seeing him carrying the Queen into any bedroom.

He dallied for time returning the pipes to where he'd found them. His concern won out over his sense of propriety, though the latter remained mostly in place as a sharp reminder that oggling young woman in nightgowns was a sure way to get himself run through on a King's sword. He felt a rush of relief when he lifted her from the chair and found that not only was she light but that her sleep was deep enough not to be disturbed by this sudden motion. This relief faded as her hand settled on his chest and she let out a contented sigh into his shoulder.

He had no plan and that was often the most dangerous of places to find himself. Standing there in the storage room with the Gentle Queen in his arms, Caspian summed up his options: either he could take her to his chambers where he knew his bed was empty or he could go hunting for a room and run the risk of finding one occupied or being caught by some night wander in the hallway.

With fewer steps than he ever remembered taking, Caspian carried Queen Susan to his room. It was actually a bit tricky navigating her through the door and her fingers curled slightly into the fabric of his shirt when he bumped into his dresser. He sucked in a sharp breath then reminded himself that his luck had held tremendously thus far; no one had stopped them in the halls, which he hoped to mean meant no one had seen them. Closing the door as quietly as possible with only the use of his foot, the young Telmaraine took a quick survey of his chamber. He would leave Queen Susan to his bed and he would sleep in his adjoing study. He kept his mind pointedly on the fact that he was going to have to do some very quick explaining when the Queen awoke tomorrow to hold any other thoughts at bay.

He carried her to the bed--the wry thought skipping over his mental defenses that he had pictured this moment and it was not at all living up to his dreams--and cautiously laid her down. Her sleep was not so deep that she didn't notice the change and she murmured something indistinct as he pulled away from her. Her brow twitched slightly and she seemed to be stirring.

In a bit of a panic, Caspian sang at a whisper the first few notes of the lullaby. She started to still so he kept going. He had never known the words so he could only make aproximation of the pipes' sound.

It worked, much to his amazement. Queen Susan settled into the pillows and began breathing evenly as her sleep deepened.

Caspian eased his steps backwards until he was on the threshold of his study. He paused in the doorway to take in the sight of the Gentle Queen sleeping soundly. Propriety be bothered--she was beautiful and he had helped put her mind to ease. Pleased with himself, he turned and found the most comfortable chair in his study--which was still straight-backed and without cushions--and plopped down. Next time, he promised himself as he shut his eyes, he would not be so unprepared if she should need him for a lullaby.


End file.
